As Mr Chiots and I transitioned from buying packaged food, we needed an alternative to the granola bar. When we’re out filming, we need to have snacks that give us energy and keep us from getting too hungry. I discovered the recipe for these healthy cookies several years ago and have been making them ever since. These little cookies make wonderful on the go snacks. They’re packed full of all kinds of healthy ingredients and you can be at peace knowing there’s no high fructose corn syrup, soy protein isolate, artificial colors, flavors, partially hydrogenated fats, GMO ingredients or any of that scary stuff.
The term cookie is used loosely here, these are not your typically over the top sweet cookie, they’re actually less sweet than any granola bar I’ve ever eaten. If you’re going to make a batch, make sure you double it, these freeze beautifully so you can keep a bag full in the freezer and grab a few before you run out the door. I amended the original recipe to suit our tastes by adding flaked coconut and some more ginger and cinnamon to add even more healthfulness. The cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar and the ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory.Carrot Oatmeal Cookies
(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, oats and cinnamon. Add the nuts and carrots. In a separate smaller bowl use a whisk to combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. *quick tip* – if you measure the coconut oil in the measuring cup first you don’t have as much maple syrup stick in the cup, most of it slides right out.

Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. I use a small ice cream scoop and press into my hand, these cookies have a tendency to fall apart a bit so they need some care. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
I play around with the flavors in these every time I make them; sometimes I add raisins and lots of cinnamon, sometimes macadamia nuts, dried pineapple and large coconut flakes. I think some savory ones made with pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes would be heavenly as would a curried one. If you add a lot of extra stuff you may want to add a little more oil and maple syrup. You cold also play around with different oils, some clarified butter in a curried cookie would be great, and maybe olive oil in the tomato pine nut cookie. I’ve never strayed from using coconut oil because I like the flavor it offers and the health benefits as well. I’m guessing you could also use honey or molasses in place of the maple syrup if you’d like, although I’ve never tried to. Since we sugar our maples, I have maple syrup around and use that.
If you’re looking for any more wonderfully healthy cookies check out 101 Cookbooks blog, she has a lot of great choices including these Grown-Up Fig Cookies and these with bananas and chocolate.
Bake up some of these little snacks and tuck them into the pockets of your loved ones when they head out the door, they’ll thank you for it!
What’s your favorite on the go snack?

These sound great – are they soft or hard? Wondering how they will store and travel. I’m not entirely happy with my granola bar recipe and I love the idea of little bite sized balls. Beautiful photos, as always!

They’re soft but not super soft, they’re slightly crispy on the outside when you get them out of the oven but they soften when stored in a container. I find that I like them made in bite or two bite cookies so you don’t have to worry about crumbs. They store really well, we once had a batch that we didn’t freeze for about a week and half and we didn’t notice that they tasted stale at all, I’m guessing they’d last longer than that.

Yesterday I made some bread from your Nov post. I’ve never baked bread before and I think I overworked the dough because it came out kind of compacted, like hardtack. But the flavor was really great anyway, so I’ll try it again and knead more gently. Or maybe I should give this recipe a go, since it’s kind of what my “bread” ended up looking like. LOLKelly (The Sorry Gardener)´s last post ..Why it’s called Ninebark Coppertina

Finally, a not-too-sweet oatmeal “cookie”. I love the option of adding crystallized ginger. I can’t wait to make these. Thank you, Susy, for the recipe.Karen´s last post ..How-To Make a Felted Sweater Blanket

I keep meaning to let you know how much we’ve enjoyed these. They’re perfect for a snack at work, or to take when we go hiking. I can’t wait until we get some maple syrup from back home in MI so I can try it as the recipe is written – they are great with cane juice crystals and a bit of water, but I’m sure they’ll be even better with syrup.

[…] in baked goods where a hint of coconut enhances the flavor. I use the Virgin Coconut oil in my healthy carrot oatmeal bites. It also makes basmati rice taste exotic and tropical. Simple add one Tablespoon for each cup of […]

I made these cookies last week as a little snack to eat before the gym. I really loved them and wrote a little post on my healthy cooking blog http://www.dietitup.com/2011/04/spoiler-alert-this-is-not-cookie.html. They aren’t super sweet which I think is the selling point for me. The taste of the nuts and fruit aren’t lost under a pound of sugar. I don’t need to eat a Vegan diet, but I like experimenting with different ingredients and my first experience with coconut oil was a success! I’ll definitely be making a different spin on these again next week. Thanks for sharing!

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.